Lamb Amongst the Lions
by One with the Purple Eyes
Summary: Kel is attending an all boy's high school in modern time America to pursue a special dream. But exactly how will she survive surrounded by so many men? And it doesn't help that she has developed a liking to a certain senior. AU
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

Kel gulped as she lifted the heavy sewing scissors. This was it. It was now or never. She held a section of her hair taut and brought the scissors to the hair. She closed her hand suddenly, too worried it would tremble if she did it slowly. Her hair fell to the floor silently, shining golden in the light of the dim lamp. She breathed in and out slowly and looked back up at the mirror to see the result.

Kel's eyes widened.

She had cut it too short-way too short. Her hair fell across her cheek reaching her lips but no further. Her expression still the same blank face, she moved to the other side to reflect the same length. It was too late to go back now. She'd already cut it. Another quick stroke and she nearly smiled, admiring how even it had been.

A noise from her left distracted her. Kel looked at the edge of the table. Her phone was ringing. She reached for it, but the hair in the back that was still long got in her way. She grabbed it and twisted it into a ponytail. Without thought, she chopped it off. She moved anxiously to her phone now barely comprehending what she had just done. She hadn't glanced in the mirror yet to see the true damage she'd created.

"Hello?" she said into the phone.

"Kel, don't do it." It was her sister, Oranie. She could tell by the voice.

"Don't do what?" asked Kel, knowing exactly what her sister was talking about.

"You know what!" said Oranie.

"Oh, pursuing my dream?"

Oranie did not reply right away. "The other thing," she said.

"Oh, you mean going to a private school?"

"The _other_ thing!"

Kel could tell Oranie was getting impatient. She smiled to herself. "Focus on your center and relax. Think yoga. We didn't spend all that time in Japan for nothing." Kel and her family were not Japanese, however, their mother was a skilled seamstress and had taken them all abroad in her study of Japanese clothing. There they had all learned various skills, particularly calm meditation.

"Keladry…you know what I'm talking about. Stop pretending you don't."

Kel laughed. "Alright. So you want me to not dress as a boy and attend an all boys academy to pursue my dream?"

"NO!" screamed Oranie. "That's not the main problem! It's your hair I'm worried about. You can buy a wig or something. Just don't cut your pretty hair! It's a waste."

"Ah," said Kel. "Well, if that's all this phone call was about then you're a few minutes too late. I just HACKED it all off." Kel snickered as she heard the gasp. "I can send you the strands if you want. You can make your own wig out of them."

"I hate you!" yelled Oranie and hung up.

Kel closed the phone with a click and set it on the bed. She walked back over to the mirror and gasped at her own folly. Before she could mourn the loss of far more hair than she had intended, the door opened and her older brother Anders burst in.

He stood agape as he took in Kel's appearance. He shook his head sighing. "You're wearing my clothes? Never mind that. I'm going to take you to the barber. Now."

….

Kel looked at her hair with distaste. The barber had cut it even shorter and she didn't like it. She had bangs now too which really annoyed her. She sighed. At least she looked like a boy now. She placed the last pair of boxers into the suitcase. Anders was waiting for her with the car to take her to the academy.

She walked downstairs and casually waved to Oranie. Oranie screamed as she saw Keladry. She immediately rushed up to Kel. "How could you?" she bellowed. "You got rid of ALL OF IT. It's not even long enough for braiding or a ponytail anymore. What happened to sisterly bonding over fixing each other's hair?"

"I never enjoyed that," said Kel. "You know that." She brushed past her and ignored the heavy gazes of her other siblings. No one seemed too happy with her new hair. Though they weren't terribly surprised either. Kel had always been something of a tomboy. Oranie was the only one who knew the real reason she cut it. Kel was dressed in girl's clothing now, but she had a set of boy's clothing she planned to change into before she got there. Probably in the car. If Anders discovered before they got there, he might take her back.

…...

"Red Rose All Boys Academy?" asked Anders in shock. They were pulled up just in front of the school and Anders was showing his concern about the sign. "Do they have a girl's academy too?"

Kel shook her head. Anders glanced behind him. He hadn't seen Kel's shake. "What the heck are you wearing?" he asked again. "Are those my clothes again or Inness or Conal?"

"No, these are mine," Kel said. "I actually bought them. It's the school uniform."

Anders locked the doors and turned off the radio. "Start talking, Kel. Now."

Kel looked away.

"First, you steal some of my clothes. Then I find you shopping for huge bandages that you clearly don't need. And you randomly decide to cut all your hair off…on your own. Are you going emo on me?"

"No," said Kel softly. "I'm just chasing after a dream."

"You want to be a boy?" he asked. "Are you, uh, into crossdressing or…?" His voice trailed off.

"No," said Kel sharply. "It's just…there's something I can only do here. I don't expect you to understand it, but please let me do this. Please, Anders."

"How do you expect me to let this go? You're going into a school, full of boys, pretending to be a boy. What if you're discovered? You could get arrested or raped or something terrible."

"I won't get discovered," Kel pleaded. "Look, I can even do the voice." Kel shifted pitches. "Good afternoon, my name is Keller. It is a pleasure to meet you." Kel smiled proudly.

"Kel…" Anders started. He sighed. "They're gonna call you a geek, you know. If you talk like that. The voice is fine just, well, we tend to be more casual than that. Even at a fancy school like this. Here." Anders reached over and loosened Kel's tie then ruffled her hair. "My advice…go for silent and mysterious. Remember that time we met the Japanese singer. He walked right past us and gave us that sort of 'I'm cool and I know it. You're not cool enough for me.' look."

"So that means you're letting me go?" asked Kel excitedly.

"Not with that voice," said Anders.

"So that means you're letting me go?" Kel repeated in a lower voice.

Anders smiled. "Good luck, Mr. Uncontrollable."

"Thanks." Kel returned the smile.

"Keep in touch with me," he said. "And I will get the story from you eventually."


	2. Chapter 2

_*A/N: I am back…it's been a while. Here we go with a new chapter, much more wordy than the last chapter. It shouldn't be quite as bad when more dialogue comes into play. Hope you enjoy and I plan to update my other stories very soon too. Thanks for reading!_

**CHAPTER TWO**

Kel pushed open a large bronze door and entered the halls of Red Rose All Boys Academy. She checked her map again to be sure she was headed the right direction. Her watch alerted her she had only five minutes to find the main office. The hallway was eerily quietly as she strode quickly towards a set of double doors at the other end. The marble tiles seemed to stretch on forever.

Kel stopped short suddenly as a door right next to her swung open. She gaped in awe as a tall handsome young man met her gaze. He smiled at her, causing Kel's heart to race even faster.

"Excuse me," he said and brushed past her.

Kel stared after him for a moment then shook her head. _I have to focus_, she thought. With a determined look on her face, she walked in a near perfect straight line to the door of the main office.

Kel knocked once. There was no reply.

She pushed the door open, calm as could be. She was determined to show no emotion.

The room was bigger than she expected. Sofas lined the wall to her right, windows stood at the wall directly in front, and on her left was a desk and two doors. She walked up to the desk and rung the small bell upon it.

A small man in a professional, navy blue business suit emerged from a rectangle of filing cabinets. "May I help you?" he inquired.

Kel nodded. "I'm a new student here. I was told to come here for my schedule and room assignment."

The man looked behind Kel at her backpack and rucksack. "It seems you are a light packer. No sports equipment, young man?"

Kel's eyes lit up. "I plan to buy those here. I've heard the school offers much better equipment than I could get at home."

The man nodded. "As you wish, sir." He handed Kel a catalogue. "Here are the listings for your browsing purposes. Orders may be placed only on weekdays. Let me find your schedule so you can determine what you need for your classes. I presume you do not have any of your books or supplies either."

Kel looked away awkwardly and nodded. Was she supposed to have gotten them before school? She hadn't known. She was usually pretty good about keeping up her guard but the nerves were starting to get to her.

"Name?" the man asked.

"Keller Mindelan."

The man sat down at a shiny black computer and typed the name. "Ah, here we go." Paper began to shoot forth from the printer. He handed her a stack of at least a dozen papers. "Your schedule and a list from each teacher of the required items for the class. I might suggest seeing Mr. Greendale. He can loan you many of the items for a cheaper price." The man gave Kel a look. He obviously was not very impressed with her.

Kel nodded. She flipped through the papers until she came to the last one. "Where is Thorn Garden?" she asked. It was listed as the name of her dorm.

"When you exit this room, go to your right and you will find a door that connects to a stony path. Follow that past the chapel and the lake and you will find a large building with a garden in front of it. The entrance is at the center."

"Thank you." Kel walked away quickly.

…..

Kel collapsed onto the bed of Room 421. It had been a maze finding all the staircases that led to the fourth floor. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more but to sleep.

"Dang it!" The words pulled Kel from her sleep. She looked up to see a very tall boy with light brown hair and dancing emerald eyes. He looked annoyed. "Here I thought I had the room all the myself!"

Kel winced. His snarky voice lashed at her like a whip. "I'm sorry…"

"Sorry!?" The boy huffed and paced back and forth. After a moment he sat on the bed opposite hers and ran a hand through his shoulder-length hair. Kel noticed he had a widow's peak.

"Are you okay?"

"What?" he snapped. "I'm fine. I'm fine. Look, I appreciate your concern, but I don't need anyone else bothering me. I get enough heat for being older than everyone else."

"Oh, I'm a year older than most people my grade. How much older are you?"

The boy laughed. "I'm four years older. A sophomore and nineteen years old."

"You're really tall," Kel remarked.

"And you're really annoying," he shot back nonchalantly.

"I'm Keller."

"Neal."

Kel thought to say 'pleased to meet you,' but then again she wasn't really pleased. This boy was really putting her off. "Are you always this-"

"Sarcastic? Cynical? Sardonic? Acrimonious? Cantankerous? Can you tell my favorite subject is English?"

Kel lay back down on the bed with her back towards him. "Whatever," she muttered. "I'm tired."

….

Kel fell back into the world of dreams. Flashes of people laughing at her, confused looks from her family, the attractive male she had seen earlier smiling at her, her roommate deviliously smirking…her dreamsphere swirled with worries and doubts.

She felt a shaking at her shoulder.

"Huh?" She opened her eyes. It took them a moment to adjust to the room. In her disoriented state she wondered why Anders hair was so long. Then she realized it wasn't Anders and she wasn't in her safe little bedroom at home. She was in the dangerous world of men, in a room with quite possibly the most intolerable person she had met in her life. Of all the people to be roomed with…it had to be him. Kel glared at him. "What is it?"

"I thought you should know that you missed dinner and breakfast and your first class."

Kel gasped. "Are you serious!?" She scrambled up and then stopped as the boy's laughter filled the air.

"No, not really," he said. "I'm surprised you care so much though. School is completely worthless. I'm only here because I have to be." Neal examined his nails.

Kel pulled out her phone to check the time. He wasn't wrong about missing dinner. It was however six in the morning. "Why the heck would you wake me up this early?"

Neal shrugged. "I figured you would need the time for your first day. Anyways I always get up this early so you should really get used to it if we're going to be living together."

"Are you trying to drive me out!?" Kel asked exasperated.

"Now there's an idea."

Kel caught herself from a nasty retort and began to slow her breathing. She had to be calm. Nothing would go well if she was on edge all day. "I'm going for a walk," she announced.

"Suit yourself. I'll be seeing you in first hour. Our schedules are almost a perfect match."

"Fantastic." Kel stood up carefully and made her way to the door.

"Have fun. Don't come back," Neal shouted after her teasingly.

….

Kel let nature be her cure; the wind calmed her spirit, the birds sung with hopes and dreams, and her mind became as steady as the earth beneath her feet.

She felt calm and ready for her start at Red Rose All Boys Academy.


	3. Chapter 3

Kel returned to her room after walking for an hour and eating a light breakfast. She just had to grab her essentials and put on her uniform. She sighed with relief when she found the room was empty.

"Stupid prat," she whispered under her breath as she pushed all of the necessary papers into a black booksack. She glanced around for her pen case. She found them safely tucked into her sneakers. She didn't remember putting them there. She opened the folder in her booksack to find it almost empty. There was a single note that read: _Let's play a game of hide and seek. I've hidden all your school supplies throughout this room. I'll put it simply…I am rather creative with my hiding places. P.S. If you're late for class, you'll receive detention._

Kel couldn't believe it. Her first day of school and her roommate was bullying her. This wasn't right…this… She wiped a small teardrop that formed in the corner of her eye. She collapsed on the bed in despair and heard a crinkling sound. She hurriedly picked up her pillow and found all of the papers jammed inside the case.

She pictured the scenario. He expected her to search the entire room in all the strangest place. He expected her to after hours of searching lay down on the bed and discover the papers. He thought he could make her late to class. But that wasn't going to happen. Kel stuffed the papers into her bag and grabbed her pencils from her shoe. She went into the small bathroom attached to the room and changed into the school uniform.

She loosened the tie a little bit so as not to seem too nerdy. A glance in the mirror confirmed it was impossible. The haircut reeked of nerd. She hoped it would grow out some more quickly. She tousled it a little in the front so it would go over her eyebrows a little more. She sighed. It would have to do.

She arrived to her first class early. The class was simply titled Homeroom and she couldn't figure out why it was even necessary. She sat down in a seat close to the back near the window. She gazed out of it, watching the birds fly through the trees.

"Is this seat taken?"

"No." Kel turned and her mouth dropped. "I mean yes, yes, it is."

"I guess I'll sit in front of you then," said Neal.

"No, you won't," said Kel. "You're too tall."

"If you were worried about seeing the teacher, you would have sat in the front." He plopped down in the seat in front of her.

Kel put her hand to her forehead. She was already starting to get a headache. A red-haired boy came and sat next to her.

"I haven't seen you before," he said surprised.

"Hi, I'm Keller." Kel smiled politely.

"Merric." He held out his hand.

Kel shook it. He had a very firm grip. She made a mental note to work on her handshakes.

"You picked a good seat," he admitted. "Mr. Perris spits when he talks. That's why everyone is getting here early." He pointed at the rest of the classroom. It had gotten rather full.

"Any other useful tips?" she asked.

"Sure," said Merric. "Let me see your schedule."

Kel pulled it out of her bag and handed it to him. He examined it.

"Aww, you're stuck with Coach Wyldon. That sucks. He's the toughest coach here. Mr. Olau is pretty good. Hm, Mr. Reed is alright…just very strange. Mr. Oakbridge, ergh, I have him too. He's so uptight. Haven't heard much about the others so they're probably okay."

Kel smiled. "Thanks."

The teacher came in then and Kel watched the unfortunate first two rows cringe with every word.

History and English went by pretty quickly and before Kel knew it, it was lunchtime.

She entered the cafeteria with brave steps but inside she was already fearing the lonely table in the corner. Or worse…a table with Neal.

She got in line and piled food onto her tray. She grabbed an orange juice and turned to look at the crowd of hungry students. Most of the circular tables were crowded with large groups. Some even had extra chairs pulled over to join in. There were three long rectangular tables along the back wall with chairs on either side. She noticed small groups of two and three over there. She began to head that way.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and halted.

"Hey there."

She turned around to see the owner of the voice. It was the same stunning boy she had seen in passing the day before.

"You're new, aren't you? Have a seat with us." He pulled a chair up to the overcrowded table next to his.

Kel sat down awkwardly beside him. "I'm Keller," she said to the group.

The guy on her right peered closely at her. "Nope, I really don't know you. Did you just move here?"

Kel was confused. "Sorta," she mumbled.

"Joren's father is the governor so he tends to know most of the people who come here."

Kel nodded.

"I'm Cleon, by the way." The tall, handsome boy held out his hand.

Kel shook it. More firmly this time. She felt her cheeks grow hot and fought to remain calm.

"What do your parents do for a living?" asked the Indian guy seated on the other side of Joren.

"They travel a lot," Kel said.

"Ah, international business," said the Indian guy. He smiled. "That is good."

"That's Zahir," Cleon murmered in her ear. "His family owns all the big technology companies here."

Kel nodded.

"The other three are Vinson, Garvey, and Iden."

"Hello," Kel said, waving stiffly. They didn't wave back.

"Oh my goodness please tell me that is not your bag." It was Joren who spoke. He had been examining his nails a moment before.

Kel looked down at her ratty black booksack. "Ah, it's just temporary," she said. "I didn't have time to buy any school supplies before coming here."

Joren nodded. "I imagine it would have been difficult to transport them by plane. You must have just moved here then. How do you like it so far?" Joren's face slid into a perverted smile. "The women in town…they're really something, huh?"

Kel shrugged. "I haven't really been around town much."

Cleon laughed. "It's okay. You'll have time on the weekend. You should come with us."

"Maybe," Kel said. "I might have a lot of schoolwork."

"Are you serious?" asked Joren. "You're turning down girls for schoolwork?"

"It's his first week," Cleon said. "I'd say he'll probably be too exhausted."

"That's true," Joren said. "The teachers are really intense here. You have to be good at things to do well." He smiled very proudly. "I have no troubles, but I can see how others might struggle."

Kel caught Cleon rolling his eyes. She looked quickly at her plate before he could see her staring. She began to dig in. "This is actually good," she said in surprise.

"Yeah, lunch and dinner are usually amazing," Cleon said. "Breakfast…eh…not so much."

"What grade are you guys in?" Kel asked. She continued to eat the food while she waited for the answer.

Joren supplied it. "Seniors," he said triumphantly. "We've only got one year left in this school. I am so ready for adult life."

"Hey, Keller." Neal pulled up a chair and squeezed himself between her and Joren. "I see you've made some new friends."

"No one invited you, Queenscove," Joren spat.

"Ha ha," said Neal sarcastically, "I really care." Neal grabbed Kel's roll and started munching on it.

"You really have no class," Joren said.

"Neither do you," Neal said with a mouthful. "Don't try to deny it."

Joren was glaring quite fiercely. "You are an ass," he muttered between his teeth. Kel just barely caught the words.

Neal readjusted himself in his seat, making a point to wriggle his butt back and forth. "Why thank you."

Kel hurried up and sucked down her juice box. With the newest addition to the table, she was ready to be out of there. "Well, it was nice to meet you all, but I should really get to my next class." Kel picked up her tray and rushed off.

"See you later!" "Bye!" Cleon and Neal called after her.

Kel couldn't believe Neal had intruded like that. Not that she was enjoying Joren's company either…but still, potential friends. She sighed. This day was going to be longer than she had anticipated. A lot longer.


End file.
